That “New Warriors as a comedy starring Squirrel Girl” series rumor is not only true, but it’s already ordered to series at Freeform. There are a million reasons why New Warriors would work better as a drama series, as the first series run by Fabian Nicieza was brilliant, but hey, Powerless was a big hit for NBC, right, so why not try another comic book comedy?
Hopefully the execution exceeds expectations.
Here’s Freeform’s press release with more details about the 10-episode series order:
‘MARVEL’S NEW WARRIORS’ HEADED TO FREEFORM WITH STRAIGHT-TO-SERIES ORDER
Series Marks First Comedic Live-Action Show for Marvel Television
Freeform, Marvel Television and ABC Signature today announced their second project together, “Marvel’s New Warriors,” a new comedic live-action adaptation of the popular Marvel comic featuring young adult heroes. This marks Marvel’s first foray into comedy for a television series. The network has ordered ten 30-minute episodes slated to debut in 2018.
“Marvel’s New Warriors” is about six young people with powers living and working together. With powers and abilities on the opposite end of the spectrum of The Avengers, the New Warriors want to make a difference in the world … even if the world isn’t ready. Not quite super, not yet heroes, “Marvel’s New Warriors” is about that time in your life when you first enter adulthood and feel like you can do everything and nothing at once – except in this world, bad guys can be as terrifying as bad dates.
The series will feature fan-favorite “Squirrel Girl” (Doreen Green) as a totally empowering fan girl—tough, optimistic and a natural leader. Doreen is confident and has the powers of a squirrel … She’s acrobatic, can fight and talk to other squirrels. Her most important trait is that she has faith in people and teaches them to believe in themselves. Additional cast to be announced.
Freeform also has “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger” underway at the network.
“Freeform’s mission is to deliver incredible content to young adults, and Marvel Television seamlessly aligns with that mission – we couldn’t be more proud to collaborate with them on ‘Marvel’s New Warriors,’” said Karey Burke, executive vice president, Programming and Development, Freeform.
“’Marvel’s New Warriors’ have always been fan favorites, and now particularly with the addition of Squirrel Girl, they are Marvel Television favorites as well,” said Marvel’s head of Television and executive producer Jeph Loeb. “After the amazing experience we’ve had with Freeform on ‘Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger,’ we can’t think of a better place for our young heroes.”
The series is co-produced by Marvel Television and ABC Signature Studios. Marvel’s Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s The Punisher,” “Marvel’s The Defenders”), and Jim Chory (“Marvel’s The Punisher,” “Marvel’s The Defenders”) serve as executive producers on the series.
